Posts tagged Jenna Bean Veatch

A dance-theater show about heartbreak and Ukrainian history
by Jenna Bean Veatch and Nadia Tarnawsky

Oct. 1-4 at 8 pm.
Tickets are sliding scale $5-$20

This show weaves together a collage of kitschy dances set to 1960s breakup songs, mournful Ukrainian ballads, whimsical stop-action animation, old family photographs, delightful paintings by Susannah Anderson, and gruesome history lessons to tell Tarnawsky’s family history, the gripping tale of a family in Ukraine split apart by WWII. This show spans the range of possibilities held within the heartbreak theme, from fun and tongue-in-cheek to utterly devastating. It draws on the humor in heartbreak, the parallels between lost love and death, and the beauty in sadness.

Inspired by the tradition of the old-fashioned circus sideshow, this original dance-theater work by Jenna Bean Veatch features characters whose physical abnormalities bestow them with special powers. Rather than disabilities, they have super-abilities. Supported by a chorus of sideshow performers singing haunting Appalachian ballads, the work highlights the peculiar beauty that can be found only in the unusual and draws on the excitement that comes from catching a glimpse of otherworldliness. With displays that are at times odd and outrageously funny and at other times breathtakingly beautiful, Sideshow falls into the category of children’s art made for adults.

It’s whimsical yet somber, with a tingling strangeness. Blending dance, theater, music, and elements of puppetry, it toes the line between being magical and haunting, simple and fantastical.

“Sideshow is simple, charming, sweet, and completely devoid of power ballads and schmaltz…. [Naomi] Russell’s…innocence and transparency cannot be resisted…[Wyllin] Daigle is a great stage presence….[Jenna Bean] Veatch’s own composition is a highlight of the show as are the folk songs wonderfully rendered by Francesca Mondelli and Jillian Vashro as the Conjoined Twins.” –The Sunbreak

“A tender and modest piece of work [for] people who enjoy Circus Contraption and other neo-vaudeville expressions of that soft spot between innocence and irony.” –The Stranger

“Sideshow is the kind of theatrical experience that reminds you why it’s worth it to live in a cool city. It’s willfully expressive, and silly, and full of joy…. Don’t miss this one. It’s really beautiful.” –Culturemob